Last week, a woman was fatally shot at Fairgrounds Valley in Rockford leaving four children orphaned. The incident happened at around 4 in the afternoon and Rockford Housing Authority CEO gave his statement regarding the issue.
According to mystateline.com, CEO Ron Clewer said "I think for folks in certain neighborhoods of our community, they're experiencing this crime for the first time but there are folks in other areas of our community who have been living this for a lifetime."
Clewer admitted that Fairgrounds has been "hot- spot for crime" but he emphasizes that people who are moving to S. New Towne Site are not the people causing the crime.
He said "It does unfortunately bring crime to a different level than we see in other neighborhoods, but that doesn't mean when we move folks from Fairgrounds that that's coming with them," and it saddens him that people use this to oppose in building the S. New Towne housing complex.
"The New Towne housing project is a good thing, but I want to make sure that the next housing proposal is handled differently, to prevent the same violent crime which has plagued Fairgrounds," said Winnebago County Board Member L.C. Wilson.
He also added, "Because there's more of these (projects) that have to be built. We should learn to try to include the residents up front instead of later."
In a report by rrstar.com, the victim was a 25- year old woman named Rachel Garrett who was found dead inside her apartment in 800 block of Tanner Court. One resident heard the gunshots but no suspect was arrested or even identified. Several residents reported that one of the victim's four children went out of their home telling them that their mother was shot. Despite of the police's quick response they found no one responsible for the crime.
What are your thoughts about the crime and violence in Rockford Fairgrounds Valley? Share it in the comments!